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Hi, My name is Kai. I was prescribed three meds in the first day. Those were Abilify, Agotine, and Topiramate. I took them instantly after the meeting with psychiatrist. I was very stressed. I felt not understood. But that wasn't the problem. The problem occured when I took the second dose after few hours. I started feeling a strange amount of satisfaction. It was night, and I felt as if I was in a kind of a transitional state. I remember feeling almost supernatural. There was a different day, which I guess I did almost the same thing after meeting the psychiatrist. I remember it was a day, and the dose might have been changed. Also there might have been added the new pill, Risperidone. I felt great agitation. I could not stop moving. I saw hallucination. I felt my world was melting down. My world was never the same after that. Honestly, I don't remember if those two were the same day or not. And many other things occured in the other days, but those were what happened when I was struck by meds instantly. The other days, I felt also very unreal. I felt my world was changing into something else. Since it was the first time I was using the antipsychotics, I thought this was what it was supposed to be doing. Later, I started losing my musical abilities. It happened gradually. One day suddenly, I simply wasn't able to play anymore. I still cannot play to this day. Before, I was great at many instruments. I was a musician by heart, feeling arts all throughout the world, loving the poetry and literature, and so on. I also loved movies, but those all disappeared. I was somewhere apart from the world I used to be in before. There was no 'me' anymore. No more interest, feelings, thoughts, memories. But I was still able to enjoy movies to some extent until I became bedridden. Being bedridden was when I was completely done in my life. At least that is what I felt. But while I was being bedridden, I slowly recovered in a strange way. It took a long time, and the recovery didn't show any promise of my previous self, I started to feel some normal feelings again, which was not really pleasing to me. I don't know if it was because I was being bedridden, relying on to my family, losing my independence and hope, but the reality felt much worse and resembled that feeling of unfortunate childhood that I've been through. I felt totally immature. I am very sorry my writing doesn't articulate anything good. I have tried to write this introduction since the beginning of this year, but it took so long to even be able to write something that doesn't look terrible. So since I know you, which are great people who chose to help, would kindly write replies to this pitiful writing, and if you do so and ask me for more specifics, I will try my best to tell more about my symptoms and situations. It also takes very long time for me to remember something, including what I ate for breakfast. Thank you.

Hi members ! I am new on this forum. I am a 25year old male . I would like to ask for help if it is possible becuse right now i am feeling very hopeless. I Have been taking 10 mg escitalopram for 1 year. i tried to quit 2 times (this was my second attempt) but it did not succeed. Before the medication i had mainly bad anxiety and bad depression too for a half year and it could be that this drug helped me (although i dont really believe in serotonin hypothesis). But i learned exposition therapy and i also thought that it was which healed my anxiety . But because when i learned this new strong mindset about exposure therapy i already started lexapro and my Psychiatrist told me that of course it was the drug so i cant say which was the main force. My first try to quit from lexapro was really bad i did a taper from 10to 5 mg within 2weeks. After that 2weeks with 2.5mg than things had gotten really REALLY bad i think worse than before the escitalopram. I reinstated at 10mg and in a week or two i was "fine again". But last time on 22. on december in 2022 i decided to wean off myself because it does not make me happy at all and causing some side effects. I read this site but in my country there is not any kind of liquid source and also i thought (foolishly) i can do a faster taper. I only wanted go down to 5mg from 10 and after if everything is OK i will wean myself completely later. I took 10 mg on day1 7.5mg on day2 for 1 week. After that 7.5mg for 1 week. Than 7.5mg and 5mg on day 1 and day2 for 1 week. At this dosage some lightheadness started with insomnia and brain fog but i continued because with some benzos and zolpidem they were managable. After that i hit the 5mg and things have gotten worse . There were depression and anxiety too but after weeks they became stronger and stronger. Yesterday after 2 months i hit the hell debilitating depression anxiety ,chills, 0apetite. I am hoping that this could be also withdrawal and not relapse because i want to live without meds and i think the lot work i did for my anxiety was myself and not the drug. Yesterday i gave it up and reinstated the original dosage 10mg and today too.. I far from good, but i am better a little bit yet. Honestly i know i a have to live with some anxiety and depression but i think i could manage that not to mention that my life needs a lot of repair too which i have to do on my own (finding a nice partner mainly) but this debilitating depression, sadness, anxiety what i got again makes me sad and tries to believe me that it was and it is all the 10mg escitalopram which helpes me not my self improovement and therapie. Sorry for the long text and the possible grammar mistakes but english is not my mother language.

Mod note: link to: Happy2Heal: Hope I'm doing this right (Introduction and update topic) I was just an 18yr old, a very confused, naive young woman, er no- more of a child, really- when I was given (by force) my first psych drug, stelazine, a major tranquilizer. that was the beginning of a long series- spanning almost 40 yrs!- of psych drugs and hospitalizations. All along the way, I was plastered with one diagnosis after another, or several heaped on at once. My physical health went downhill and I ended up a virtual shut-in, living my life all in my head, friendless, socially isolated to the extreme, my only contact with drs and therapists, leaving my house to go food shopping maybe twice a month. This wasn't living, and I knew it. But I didn't know how to change things. I didn't know what was wrong. I spent over two thirds of my life believing I was mentally ill and *needed* to be on those drugs. but at some point, it occurred to me that the drugs might actually be the problem, or at least, part of the problem. I knew I had to get off them. and I did. The process and the pain of that is reported on my thread, I don't care to go back over it, at least not now. I learned a lot along the way, but for now, I don't want to think about where I've been, I only want to think about where I am now, and the life I have before me. Here I am, now, one year off all drugs, of all kinds. I rarely even take a ibuprofen for a headache. I want to write my success story, but I'm not 100% ready yet However I do have to say that what I feel most of all, is a great deal of pride in having survived. I suffered all forms of abuse as a child, emotional, sexual, physical, verbal, went on to be a survivor of rape, of domestic abuse. I was abused within the mental health system. I've spent virtually all of my adult life in poverty, raising my daughter as a single mom on disability due to "mental illness". But today, I feel as if I've done more than just survive; I am thriving. I have friends. I have a very active social life. I volunteer and I feel like the work I do is making a difference, having an impact. while technically I am still 'poor' by income, I don't go without anything I need, with the possible exception of good dental care I have a good life. Is my withdrawal journey over? I'm not sure.While I took my last dose of lexapro over a year ago, I feel like I am still having some symptoms that must be related to the nearly 4 DECADES on psych meds. BUT you need to know, these symptoms are extremely mild. and after that long on so many different drugs, it stands to reason that there will be minor little tweaks that my brain will need to make, for some time to come. I'd like to say that all that has faded into the background of my life, but to be honest: I am more vigilant about them now, than at any time during active withdrawal- because I don't want to fall into a trap of thinking that any problems I may have mean that all those doctors were right, I'm permanently disabled by a mental illness and there's no hope for me. I am pretty sure that the only thing I suffer from is PTSD, and I don't see that as a mental illness so much as a natural reaction to extremely stressful, traumatic life events. so Today I feel Victorious. I've overcome a lot and need to soak in that feeling of doing a good job I don't often give myself credit for my achievements or feel like it's ok to feel good about them but today, I give myself permission to bask in this feeling. it feels like the right and honest thing to do. I guess I just have to be different, I don't want to call this a success story because that sounds to me like the end, when in fact it is not. It's not really a beginning, either, because the beginning of my new life dates back to when I first realized that the drugs were the problem. to me, this just feels like a victory over adversity- something to celebrate! so please, celebrate with me, and know that you are going to heal as well, those of you still going thru WD/recovery. it's worth it, believe me so very worth it!

Hi all! So happy to have found this place! I’ve browsed a few posts, and I think I’ve found my people lol! About me- I’m 51 years old, and have been on and off a bunch of psychiatric meds since the 90s. My memory is poor (more on that later), so I can’t remember exact dates, but I have been on Prozac, Paxil, Effexor, Wellbutrin and Escitalopram, along with occasional benzos and zopiclone for short periods. Honestly- i wish I had never started taking any of them. Hindsight and a really good therapist has made me realize that many of my choices in life have just not been very congruent with my wants/needs/values etc, leading to some serious cognitive dissonance. I have also experienced severe professional burnout many times, and have some childhood trauma that I had never dealt with. Had I found a good therapist in my 20s, I may have never started taking these drugs. BUT- I am generally a pretty optimistic person, so I am looking forward, and feeling so grateful to have been able to improve my knowledge on withdrawal, so I can do it right this time. I have never tapered slowly. I have always followed my doctors’ advice, and my slowest taper was off of Effexor, and that only took two months. I had little difficulty coming off Wellbutrin, but all the others were awful- restlessness, irritability, brain zaps, bouts of severe depression, tremors, insomnia, extreme sensitivity to light and noise. I most recently started taking 10mg of escitalopram in 2016. I had changed jobs, and was having crippling anxiety about my new role. I didn’t want to start taking it- i had been off of it since before my daughter was born in 2009. But being in a new job, I felt I had to show my employer that I was willing to do anything to get back to work asap. So I started taking it, and took four months off to pull myself together, so to speak. Fast forward to 2020- still on my 10mg of escitalopram. Didn’t want to be, but couldn’t face weaning, and all the withdrawal symptoms. Then the pandemic hit. I work in healthcare, so needless to say, this was a scary time for me. Anxiety peaked, and my doctor increased my dose to 20mg. It didn’t help at all. My anxiety remained high for the next two years… I was just surviving. I was so anxious and burned out, I barely remember anything from that time period. It’s like a bad dream. i finally contracted COVID in June 2022. I was not hospitalized, but was very ill for four weeks. When I finally managed to go back to work, I couldn’t function. Went off on sick leave, and was eventually diagnosed with long COVID. My symptoms have included crippling fatigue, severe right sided headaches, chest pain/pressure, palpitations, severe brain fog, memory issues, internal ‘vibrations’ (for lack of a better term), cyanosis when my heart rate goes over 125 and presyncope. I haven’t worked since August 2022. Over the last two years, I have learned to manage my symptoms fairly well with diet, hydration, additional salt, compression stockings, meditation and my awesome therapist. I started to taper my escitalopram last November, with fairly large dosage cuts… it occurred to me that I’ve done this before, and always ended up right back on the meds. So I started researching how to properly taper, and realized that everything I had done in the past was misguided, and likely caused some long term health issues. So I’ve decided to slow my taper waaaay down, hoping to get off of these drugs for good! Feeling very optimistic! 😁 I am also taking low dose naltrexone 2.5mg for long COVID, estrogel for hot flashes, vitamin D 2000iu/day, B12 1000mcg per day (I’m vegan- no choice on this one!). i think that’s it- in a nutshell… I’ve had more than my share of legit emotional turmoil too, but it’s all just too much to share here. I will say that I’m in a really great emotional place right now, so I feel the time is right to do a proper taper. I look forward to sharing my journey here! 😊

Hello everyone, I'm a 32 year old female from Germany. Over there I'm in quite the similar forum which already helps tremendously. But I finally decided to sign up here, too. For more support, more hope, more people who understand... I have been mildly depressed for some time because I couldn't handle my physical chronic illness well, anymore. I went to a good therapy. But when I experienced some anxiety issues for the first time in my life I got scared and sadly decided to try Escitalopram. While in hospital for some physical diagnostics in August 2015 I was put on 5mg up to 20mg Escitalopram without any big problems. I continued therapy for another one and a half years and actually felt great. I was one of the lucky people who didn't suffer from any side effects other than a bit of weight gain. In 2017 I went down to 10mg without any problems. Then it was finally time for hubby and me to try to conceive. But before that, the meds had to go. My psychiatrist at the time was nice but, as I know now, clueless. She recommended a quick taper, as stated in my signature and told me I could "get some brain zaps". I tapered and was off in June 2018. I know now I definitely had that honeymoon phase. I felt wonderful. Hubby and I started trying for a baby! Over the summer I had some symptoms that I recognized as withdrawal symptoms. Because now I already knew the German forum. But only on the surface. Had I dug deeper and read through some stories, I would have known that you can crash with some delay. Which is what I did. I fell on October 1 and landed on October 2 in a different, nightmarish world. Everything was so different. Everything! I was a happy woman up until those days. My symptoms at the beginning: akathisia, extreme anxiety all the time, insomnia, including two weeks of complete insomnia, extreme fatigue, muscle tension and pain, diarrhea, massive derealization, crying spells, despair, heart racing and palpitations, bladder problems, hopelessness, stomach problems and more which I might have forgotten. By then I knew there was no point in seeing a doctor. I was bedridden anyway. And I knew this was withdrawal hell. The German forum advised me to reinstate. I did, at 0.25. There was a first little window right after the first dose but overall, I was still in hell. Over time I carefully updosed to 0.35, then later to 0.5 and then, right the next day, because I was so desperate, to 0.6. That's when a different kind of hell broke loose. I felt cornered by my symptoms, I had no room anymore, I couldn't breathe. I was so agitated, my nerves tingling, vomiting, pulse up to 160. Never ever could I survive this. I even got scared I might be able to harm myself. This turned into obsessive thoughts and panic, that I might really be able to end my life, without ever really wanting it. German Forum told me to go back to 0.5 after just a couple of days. I did, but it still took time for those very drastic effects to settle... I couldn't be left alone anymore. I've been lucky to have my husband and mother, sister, friends. Someone was always there. In mid December my grandma jumped in. She lives next door but I couldn't have seen her and scared her before then because I was in such bad shape. But from then on she was happy to take care of me whenever needed. So... I've been holding the dose since the end of November and am going to continue to hold. I'm still more or less housebound. I got agoraphobic, the world seems to big for me. Just some little steps outside the door, nothing more. I'm still in a different world. I never feel save. I do sleep okayish at night but never at daytime because I jolt in terror when I try. I'm terrified by the withdrawal. I'm hopeless and anhedonic, don't have any interest and don't do much. I feel bad writing this. But... I had improvements. Like no more non stop anxiety, no akathisia, I eat, I sleep, I'm not bedridden anymore, hardly any derealization... But the thing is. I'm so terrified. Frozen in fear and feel like I can't trust those improvements. Especially because everybody says it's normal that withdrawal takes years. So why should it be different for me? Did reinstating catch me? Or is crashing hard and suffering for years inevitable for me, as it was for most of you? I don't know who I am and where I stand anymore. I can't trust my body anymore. I'm going through typical windows and waves, though somehow faster than others. I seem to improve faster but cannot trust that. And I feel ashamed whining about that because I know you all have been suffering for long and probably wish you'd feel that kind of progress. I don't even know what living and being happy is supposed to feel like anymore. Will I notice it? Will I know when it's over for me, even when I'm now frozen in fear and feel like I'm not really growing with my improvements? Withdrawal turned me into a child, which is not typically me. It's weird. I am still going through this but am already haunted by the very bad memories. Do you know this? I know lots of affirmations, I pray, I read success stories, I follow Baylissa's wise words. But still acceptance is my weak point. I can't seem to do it. Or rarely. I'm floating through all this with a feeling of nothing to hold on to, despite knowing that I have my wonderful family and friends. Like life is over... I don't ever move freely, feel relaxed. I'm so scared I won't be able to find my way back. That I will remain frozen, even after withdrawal is over. I can't really try things or look at things from normal life because it depresses and scares me so much. Desperate... TV, computer and reading are almost impossible for me. So what can I do? I come online on my mobile. What I do to help me: focus on breathing. Taking fish oil and magnesium. Gaba tea. Some game playing with grandma. Eat. Luckily I can eat everything like before. Drink enough. Pray. Have people around me. What I can't do: guided meditation, relaxing music, yoga... Stuff like that. When I try, terror jumps at me. As if there's a door open in my brain that should be closed. Taking baths is a NO. Memories of horrible waves... Will I forever see and feel withdrawal everywhere? My home doesn't feel the same anymore. All that exists is withdrawal and I'm so scared that won't ever change. Phew, that's a lot. Thanks for reading! Oh! Two more things: luckily I didn't get pregnant over summer! Just the thought of it, in this situation! And my screen name. While I feel devastatingly hopeless inside, I think almost all of us have that glimmer of hope in our hearts. That spark that makes us continue, day by day. Even if we don't realize it. I wish you healing! withhopeinmyheart

Hello everyone. First of all, I would like to thank you for creating this website. I don’t know where I would be without it. I have learned a lot of information in here about antidepressants and the importance of tapering. I started sertraline in September 2018 due to depression and anxiety. My doctor never told me about any side effects or when I should stop the treatment. It was fine until I started noticing my motivation and my emotions were going away. I had more symptoms, but at the time I didn’t connect the dots. I suspect my IBS and my need to sleep 12 hours a day were part of it. After 4 years my mom suggested me to stop antidepressants since she thought I was doing fine and she read that they probably were not good to take for that long. At the beginning I was skeptical, but eventually I agreed. My doctor gave me instructions on how to stop. She told me to alternate days which now I know is very bad advice. I had no symptoms until I started alternating half a tablet and no tablet. Then I started having horrible symptoms. I thought I was going insane. I started going to a psychologist who told me she couldn’t help me unless I took drugs. It disgusts me now that she said something like that. She recommended a psychiatrist. In the first visit she convinced me to start 10 mg escitalopram. I remember I started having full body pain for the first time in my life. The psychiatrist told me that it was not possible for these drugs to cause that. Now I know she had no idea what she was talking about. The pain went away in a couple of weeks. I was still having no motivation and almost no emotions. The psychiatrist decided I needed 20 mg escitalopram for some reason. That made things worse. She decided I should try bupropion and stop escitalopram in like two weeks which concerned me. I asked her if that wasn’t a bit too fast. She said it was fine (lol). It was horrible. I thought I was going completely insane. I talked to her and I reinstated to 5 mg. But I was still taking bupropion which was making my heart go very fast. My gut told me I would have a problem if I continued taking bupropion when I tried to come off. So I decided to stop bupropion cold turkey after taking it only for 2 weeks. I think that was the best decision of my life because I saved myself from becoming dependant on it. I explained to my psychiatrist I was tired of this and that I wanted to come off escitalopram. She told me to reduce 1 mg every month. When I reached the 2 mg point I discovered this website through reddit. Everything started making sense. I decided to stop seeing my psychiatrist after she made me feel like I was a “bad patient” and that the problems I had were all my fault and not hers. But I still had a problem. I didn’t know how to go from 2 mg to 1.8 mg because my liquid is 20 mg/ml. So I made the mistake of going to 1 mg and that was quite bad. Going from 3 mg to 2 mg was already bad, but this time it was worse. I decided I won’t reinstate ever again unless my situation becomes very bad. So I held there until I got better. Then I learned how to make my liquid less concentrated and use syringes to taper by 10%. I started tapering again, but I went too fast because I am very impatient. I am going slower now. Maybe a bit faster than suggested in this forum, but I’m learning to listen to my body and hold more if necessary. The worst symptoms I get when I go too fast are very bad misophonia, thinking everyone wants to hurt me, wanting to die, irritability, full body pain, unable to sleep at a normal time, headaches and digestion problems. Right now I’m doing fine, but I’ll try to keep you informed. My intention is to keep this as a journal of my progress and help others that have a similar story. Again, thank you for everything!

Hi. I have been tapering off lexapro for 6 years very slowly. 10% of the last dose, even 5% the last few months. I am having non stop suicidal ideation. Depression and fear spirals. It’s been going on for 3-4 months. I’ve never had these symptoms before. I am wondering if this is still withdrawal or if it’s the lexapro itself. it doesn’t make sense for withdrawal to last this long with as slow of a taper I’m doing. Im waiting on more blood work to come back, most of it has been normal so far. not sure what to do in this situation. I worry this is the meds themselves. I hope it’s withdrawal and I can just stabilize at .672 mg.

Hello I'm attempting to get off psychiatric drugs. I do not believe that I was mentally ill, but that I was deeply affected emotionally by trauma. I first got put on psych drugs after the birth of my first son, who was born with health issues. The psychiatrist put me on Paxil, and then Trazodone because I couldn't sleep. Fortunately that doctor took me off the drugs less than a year later. I didn't have any major issues coming off these drugs. Due to lots of stress factors in my life, I had anxiety. I was put on Serzone for a few years, then got off this without major problems. When I got pregnant with my 2nd child, my husband freaked out, because he was afraid this baby would also have health problems. I saw a psychiatrist, and he, with my OB/GYN's permission, put me on Paxil when I was 5.5 months pregnant with my 2nd child. He was born perfectly healthy. The Paxil caused me to gain lots of weight. I was up to 215 pounds. So my primary care doc switched me to Lexapro, thinking it would be more weight neutral. I was also put on Trazodone because of Insomnia. I tried several times in the past to get off these drugs, but each time, I had trouble with severe insomnia. I would call the doctor, and he would say I needed to go back on the drugs, so I did. Finally, I decided that I was definitely going to get off the drugs. I came to realize that these doctors don't know what they are doing. When I asked my psychiatrist why I was having such severe insomnia when trying to get off, he said to me "I don't know. Go back on it". (shaking my head). I started to wean off Lexapro 16 months ago, but 4 months into that my mother became severely ill, and so I went back to 1/2 of my original dose, which was 5 mg. I stayed on the 5 mg for about 9 months. Then, I started to wean off of it again. This was back in August of 2018. I've been very gradually coming off it. I'm on the liquid now, and have been dropping the dose by 0.5 milligrams each month. I did manage to wean off the Trazodone a year ago, while I was still on the 5 mg of Lexapro. The other thing that is complicating this withdrawal is that I'm menopausal and in my upper 50's. When I haven't changed the dose of Lexapro I don't have the hot flashes, but every time I reduce the lexapro the hot flashes return. I don't want to put off getting off of this toxic chemical. I don't think there will ever be a perfect time to get off these drugs. I'm so so close to being off of it. In the past 3 days, the hot flashes have been especially bad, and I've had little sleep because of that, and probably also because of being agitated by my drug withdrawal. The issues I'm having recently are: insomnia, agitation, anxiety off and on, tiredness and fatigue. The insomnia is the worst, but the hot flashes are contributing significantly to the insomnia. Any help or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. I'm doing many things to learn to cope. I'm reading books on how to cope with stress and anxiety and depression. I'm walking daily, eating healthy, cultivating healthy friendships, and best of all, cultivating a strong and deep spiritual life with prayer and bible reading.

Hi all, I'm 43 and in the UK. Glad to have found this forum. I came across it as feeling desperate due to the debilitating nausea I've been experiencing, both from trying to start SSRI's and now trying to taper of them. I was doing ok, mental health wise until some repeated traumas happened over the last few years (I also separated from my long term partner which added to things) and have struggled with PTSD symptoms and depression. I've experienced the side effects of starting and stopping SSRI's before so was reluctant to go on them again, but I became exhausted by the relentless PTSD symptoms which didn't subside by trying other things. So I succumbed and since November last year had been trying to go ON Escitalipram. The side effects of starting Escitalipram been horrendous - namely the very high level of nausea and struggling to eat (I've also lost a lot of weight over the last 5 months and was already naturally slim). I got up to 8mg using the drops and pretty much every step of the way I've felt very poorly with the nausea. Im not noticing any other side effects. I've now decided to taper off as 1. the sickness side effects are too debilitating, 2. I don't want the damaging to effects of SSRI's, 3. I'm not sure how much they are helping my mental health anyway ( it's hard to tell as feeling so physically ill all the time is getting me down). One week ago, I dropped from 8mg to 7mg and peak nausea has set in. My plan is to slowly taper, 1 mg at a time. I've only been on it 5 months but I know it's going to be hell coming off it. I guess I'm wondering what others experience of nausea, weight loss and no appetite is and any advice would be appreciated? I feel I'm doing what I can. Going for walks, getting rest. I'm trying to eat little and often even though I feel i'm forcing myself. Things like snacking on little bits like snacking on nuts, cheese, good bread, boiled eggs, bananas. I need to be able to function as I'm a single mum and have to work (although I'm lucky as run my own business from home which isn't too full on). The worst is having to shop and cook for the kids whilst I feel like this. Just the thought of food turns my stomach. I don't know if there's anything else I can do to relieve the nausea and feel relatively normal again, so at least I can eat ok? Is it worth asking the doctors to prescribe something else? An anti emetic maybe? When I was pregnant I had hyperemesis and the only antiemetic that gave me slight relief was ondansetron, but I think this interacts with SSRI's so not sure if it's a good idea? To add, I started Trazadone at night a couple of months ago (100mg) mostly for sleep, to help with the panic attacks I was waking up with. I do want to continue with this as I don't seem to have any side effects with it and I am sleeping better. The dose I'm on is not the therapeutic dose for depression and anxiety, but it is definitely helping me sleep. I wondered if it would be a good idea to increase the Trazadone slightly whilst tapering off the Escitalipram? Thanks all for your time.x

Hi amazing people! I’m so glad to find this site after all these years. I’ve been on Lexapro for about 4 years. Started with 5mg, took months to adapt while being almost dysfunctional (unable to stay awake, tired and numb, etc.), then tried 10mg based on the doctor’s recommendation, symptoms appeared again and I resisted taking the increased dose so stayed on 5mg. In one occasion on holidays I missed 3-4 days and I had horrible symptoms: crying spells, drowsiness, etc. a few months ago I saw a consultant in the hopes of getting off the medication but he said I better switch to duloxetine instead! I stopped Lexapro and started Duloxetine 20mg (or is it 25?) and again, severe symptoms. A week into the misery, I read up more to find out how severe the symptoms can be in the long term with duloxetine withdrawal. I contacted the doctor, but neither himself nor the on call doctor were available! I waited several days and eventually switched to lexapro. This was in January. My general practitioner had told me before this that I can split the pills in half and take 2.5mg for a month and then take it every other day for another month and then stop. Now I know that this isn’t the best solution and I need to step down more slowly, however I’ve been taking the 2.5mg (or whatever that I get from the splits that are far from perfect) for 35 days. I was all fine until this week. I’ve been having a dry throat (as if I’m starting a flu), subtle trembling, dizziness and headache and fatigue and body ache. Unfortunately my doctor isn’t available until Monday and I’m struggling quite a bit. After going through some of the posts here, I just took another ~2.5mg half this morning (I take my usual dose at night) and I am hoping it will help me cope better. But in the meanwhile I would like any words of wisdom you could all share with me. I have no support and I live alone, so I can’t afford not to work nor function regularly.

Hi Everyone, I am just going to jump right into this. I developed anxiety 4 years ago after having several life crisis in a months time. My mom was diagnosed w Dementia. My little sister was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.A childhood friend died in his sleep from heart failure. I tipped over from the stress. I went to my GP and she started throwing AD's at me to help silence the anxiety. The AD's only made me worse. I went to the ER one night after experiencing my first panic attack The ER Dr gave me a script for Ativan. I took it for four weeks and then stopped because I was feeling much better. A few days later my world turned on it's axis. I didn't know what was happening. My anxiety was worse, I was pacing, heart racing, Panic attacks daily.... I went to my GP and she said I needed to see a Psychiatrist. To get in to see anyone was 3 months. I started to spiral. I had no idea I was in withdrawal! I ended up in the hospital to get help for my anxiety. I was put on Effexor (75mg)and Klonopin (.25mg). I stabilized and was sent home. I did really well on Effexor. After 4 months on Klonopin I started to slowly taper off. I tapered over 3 months. The taper went pretty well. I was cutting and weighing my pills. 8 months after that I felt good and talked to my Psychiatrist about tapering off of the Effexor. She strongly recommended to go slow and we did. I tapered for almost 7 months. To be honest, the Klonopin was easier to come off of than the Effexor. She put me on Prozac before my last cut of Effexor. Tapered off of the Prozac over 3/ months. I still had some anxiety but it was tolerable. It felt AMAZING to be free of AD'S and the Benzo....then COVID hit and my mom passed away. Anxiety came back w a vengeance. I ended up back in the hospital after a very bad reaction to Zoloft. My new psychiatrist kept telling me to "push through," the first 3 months. I was back on Klonopin but now it was.50mg twice a day.The hospital took me cold turkey off of Zoloft and started me on Remeron and Trazadone. The next day they added clonidine. The klonodine didn't agree w my system at all and I was taken off of that in two days. They released me from the hospital 5 days later. I lasted two weeks on Remeron. I was so disoriented, confused, high anxiety and felt like I could become violent on them so they weaned me off of that over 4 days and put me back on Prozac. Prozac didn't help my anxiety, I had constant headaches for months! I did get an MRI and it was normal. I started to feel more and more depressed on it. I was on Prozac for maybe two months when my psychiatrist took me off of that (tapered over 6 weeks) and put me on Lexapro. I had to have back surgery during this. I did NOT take a single pain med out of fear of making my WD worse. At first I thought the Lexapro was helping? I was still having breakthrough anxiety so he bumped it up. My Psychiatrist retired and a new woman came in to take his place until they could find a new one. She bumped my Lexapro up to 25mg when I told her I was having major anxiety rushes, my face would get bright red, I wasn't sleeping very well. That increased dosage was the worst! I was like a zombie but w heightened anxiety. I couldn't work, I would sit at my desk and space off for hours! I felt awful. So, she told me to start tapering off of the Lexapro (4 weeks total! I knew better...) and she wanted to cross taper me onto Effexor. I started that and boy....the depression was BRUTAL! I was not sleeping well, could hardly focus, anxiety was high, my legs felt like jelly, my head would burn, I felt my brain tingle all the time... I was nearing the end of my rope. I was desperate for a Psychiatrist that CARED. The interim Psych left and a new one came in. She wanted me off of the Effexor because she felt it was too hard to come off of and if it didn't work for me, I would be in for hell. I told her I was scared to switch AGAIN and she assured me that switching to Duoloxetine was it's "sister drug," and I shouldn't have an issue. I trusted her. The last 3 months have been.... (How do describe this hell?!) a daily battle to push through hell on earth. I am still working, I can still function, I take care of myself, my home, my dog. I am a divorced woman with a 22 year old son. I live by myself with my Rottweiler. Life is so friggin' hard when you are trying to get thorough this mess. I now have a WONDERFUL and caring Psychiatric nurse practitioner who truly cares. She is holding me on the last 10mg of Lexapro until the Effexor/Lexapro WD calms down...IF it calms down. I should tell you that I can't believe I have pushed through the last year. My symptoms have been Burning in my head, headaches, tingling in my head, mood fluctuations, burning on my skin, bloodshot eyes, pressure on my chest, sensitivity to heat, depression, sweat easily, joint pain, ringing in my ears, no motivation, grinding my teeth, feeling mentally off at times, at the beginning I couldn't sit still, short tempered, at times in the beginning of the Lexapro taper, I didn't want to talk at times...like I almost couldn't, buzzing in my body, feel like I'm going crazy sometimes, anxiety rushes...etc I am interested in this group for support and the combined knowledge from it's members. I know that NO ONE can tell me when this is going to end. What I am hoping is that someone can tell me what I am going through is normal for all of the med changes? I am honestly concerned if I am still having problems because of the Duoloxetine? My anxiety IS better since I have been on it. I get 8 hours of sleep. I don't drink. I don't use illegal drugs, don't smoke. I eat pretty healthy. I don't exercise. It's tough to get out for walks when you feel like hell and I guess I save my mental energy to work. I know I have rambled on. My mind feels like it's in a vice and also these drugs affect how well I put my thoughts into words. For the most part I am a happy and well adjusted person. I feel like the last few years have been stolen from me because I faithfully followed Dr's instructions and thought they knew best...I was so wrong. Thank you for your time. Blessings to all of you.

Hello, I have been trying to stop taking Cipralex three times since 2017. My medications were two - 10mg Cipralex a day and 2x0.5mg Fluanxol. I started taking it slowly as my psychiatrist suggested - 2/3 days 2.5mg, then 2/3 days 5mg, then 10mg. At 10mg it was the first time I felt heart palpitations - I am an active athlete and never had heart issues. The first time it was not actually Cipralex by Lundbeck, but Lenuxin (which contains again escitalopram). I remember that I did not know, and my psychiatrist did not tell me there were going to be withdrawal symptoms. I started forgetting to take the 10mg tablet and started skipping days. I was feeling some mild withdrawal symptoms like headache or fatigue, but overall, not anything too debilitating. I stopped the medicaments successfully back then (summer 2018) I was one year of any medicaments until the summer of 2019, when I experienced some stressful situations. I had anxiety with panic attacks mostly and some stomach problems. Back then my mother forced me to start taking the pills again, although I was strongly against it, but at that time I was trusting my mother, because she had experienced severe depression in her twenties as well. Summer of 2020, I started a relationship with a girl. It was again a year since I have been taking Cipralex 10mg and Fluanxol 2x0.5mg. I started what I considered slow tapering - I started taking half the dose of both pills (5mg Cipralex and 1x0.5mg Fluanxol). After a month or two things were overall fine. Then I stopped the fluanxol and was left with 5mg Cipralex. I tapered again half (from 5mg to 2.5mg) and was feeling good, so I started skipping days. It was year 2020 (winter) and I started feeling anxious, I started sweating at night, had tremors, nausea, developed agoraphobia. Then I also started experiencing sleep issues and decided to go back to 5mg and when I got back to 10mg I had restored my sleep. Continued taking Cipralex and Fluanxol until 2021 (winter) - 1 year again on medication. I went to my psychiatrist and said that I want her to make a tapering plan for me. She said 4 months on half dose (5mg Cipralex) and 3 months afterwards on 1/4 dose (2.5mg Cipralex). After that to go to consultation again. I did as she said, and everything was good. Then (April 2022) I went on consultation and asked how I can stop taking them completely, so she said: 1 week - 1 day take 2.5mg, 1 day skip; 2 week - 1 day take 2.5mg, 2 days skip; 3 week - 1 day take 2.5mg, 3 days skip; 4 week - 1 day take 2.5mg, 4 days skip; 5 week - completely stop. I did as she said and started experiencing withdrawal but continued with the taper. Stopped Cipralex completely at the beginning of May 2022. Then three months of hell started. I experienced severe withdrawal effects such as daily headaches, fatigue, nausea, stomach problems, electric shocks (in the head), anxiety, depression (I never had until this moment). But the withdrawals that were unbearable were two - insomnia (could not sleep for days or have had 1-2 hours broken sleep) and vomiting (everything I ate, even though I tried anti-vomiting oral solution - I vomited that too). When I contacted my psychiatrist after the first 2 weeks, she said that it is not withdrawal anymore, rather than that the previous anxiety/depression I had has returned so I need to again go on medication - I refused and wanted to try everything. I was so fatigued due to lack of sleep and stomach/vomiting issues that I could not do sports (which I know helps a lot). But although was tired, my body refused to rest (could not sleep). I tried everything to improve my sleep, because I thought otherwise, I can die without sleep + it worsened the anxiety, fatigue, concentration - mint + valerian (drops), lavender scents, relaxation music, passiflora, 4-7-8 breathing, nothing helped. At one point it was so bad I was considering smoking weed and drinking alcohol (which is totally not me!). I went to another psychiatrist, and he prescribed me Tritico (trazodone) - 25mg for sleep. I slept 7-8 hours every day for a week! But then after that it just stopped working for me. I tried increasing to 50mg, then 75mg, then 100mg, but again could not sleep. Afterwards tried Tritico XR + Xanax 0.25mg, but that did not go well for me. Although there were some hours I slept fine, I felt with 0 power and was lying in bed for days, so I stopped taking it. My psychiatrist was going to prescribe me a sleeping pill (Essognu), which I know that can cause very easy dependence, so I refused that option. My girlfriend left me, because she could not handle it. I could not work, because of the sleep and vomiting issues. I was almost going to be hospitalized. So, for the 3rd time I was forced to go back to Cipralex, Fluanxol + Agomelatine (Valdoxan) for sleep. I decided to stop these things that are killing every emotion in me, I cannot feel happiness nor sadness and I want to try everything (even if I manage to lower the dose of the Cipralex and continue to take it forever - even that will be great!). And here I am after 3months (from September 2022, now December 2022) - my sleep returned and my stomach issues + vomiting are nowhere to be found, but I have heart palpitations and daily headache again. I stopped Fluanxol and Valdoxan and am only on Cipralex 10mg, but I need your advice: 1. How to taper it correctly - in Bulgaria there is no liquid version of Cipralex, I can order from a friend in Germany. Have tried to dissolve the pill with water and to take it via 10ml syringe, but it seems it is faster distributed in my body, and I feel strange. 2. How to cope with the two things that forced me to get back on antidepressants - insomnia + vomiting. Please give me your advice. Thank you sincerely!

Hi Everyone, Im so glad I was referred to this site from Reddit. I’ve been reading the forums over the last several days before signing up and introducing myself. Here’s my history and where I’m currently at. I have been on Lexapro 20mg since summer of 2007. Starting in 2016 I began experiencing debilitating left jaw pain and left eustachian tube dysfunction as a side-effect of the Lexapro. I did not know at the time the Lexapro was causing these side-effects. I was grinding my teeth so badly that I thought I had trigeminal neuralgia in my left cheek. In November 2019 I was prescribed Cymbalta 60mg by my neurologist at the time for the pain in my face. I was on Cymbalta 60mg until February 2020 because it killed my libido. Went down to Cymbalta 30mg. Stayed on 30mg until August 2020 when my neurologist reduced the dose down to 20mg to being to taper off the meds completely. In October 2020 I began to experience withdrawal symptoms from the cymbalta: vertigo and adrenaline surges. I did not know at the time that these were related to the cymbalta withdrawals. A few days before Xmas 2020, my mind began to catastrophize about the holidays and death and I was sent into a constant state of adrenaline fueled panic attacks that did not stop for five days. I spent Xmas Eve in the out patient psych ward. They gave me hydroxizine and sent me home. I looked for a psychiatrist and was able to get an appointment with my current psychiatrist two days after Xmas. He switched me back to Lexapro 20mg. On the morning of the second day of taking the Lexapro the adrenaline stopped surging and the panic attack state stopped. I was stable from then on until August 2021. In August the panic state returned, this time without the adrenaline surges, and lasted for two weeks straight. My psychiatrist prescribed me gabapentin 300mg x3 daily. The gabapentin saved my life. I was on this regimen until May 2022 when I felt stable enough to begin to taper off the Lexapro. I went from 20 to 15 to 10 to 5 about a month at a time until I finally came off the Lexapro a month ago on October 15th, 2022. I began tapering off the gabapentin and have been off it since Halloween. The panic state returned Sunday night and I’m back on the gabapentin but not the Lexapro. The gabapentin keeps my brain from catastrophizing but I can feel underneath the gabapentin that I’m still having the panic attack: heart palpitations, chest tightness and some pain, butterflies in my chest, paresthesia in my arms and hands. I’ve read about the 10% dose reduction and about going back on a smaller dose of the Lexapro to stabilize and start the taper again at the 10% rate. I’ve been off Lexapro for a month now. I don’t know if I’ll kindle by going back on or not. I’ll stop here and wait for replies from mods and you other guys who know so much about what we’re going through to get healthy again. Much love!

I took Escitalopram for a week (6 days 5mg and the last 10mg) and then decided that it wasn't for me (in consultation with two GPs and two psychiatrists). For the first two days after stopping, everything remained relatively normal and initially improved (instead of lying around for 24 hours, my participation in life increased again). On the third day, a strong inner restlessness, associated insomnia and sexual dysfunction set in. This condition has now been happily changing from better to worse for 7 days. I also have the feeling that I'm not quite myself emotionally, but this could also be due to the fact that I'm worried about my current condition. So I wanted to know if you have had similar experiences and what the time frame was for you?

I'll keep this post simple because I don't care to complain so much. For reference I'm 31 and male. I had a bad reaction to 5mg of escitalopram (prescribed for anxiety and mild depression) on February 22nd that left my head burning for hours. Earlier the same day I also took Lion's Mane (which I didn't realize at the time has MAOI properties, there's barely any research you can find about this through Google). I'm pretty sure it was a case of serotonin syndrome. I felt spaced out and overly jumpy/reactive and the doctors at the hospital didn't really seem too concerned about my condition because I was otherwise still conscious and that was good enough for them I guess. They're not very competent when it comes to identifying SS. I had also noticed immediate side effects (genital numbness) while I was using the washroom which left me very concerned. 8 hours of my time was wasted with basic testing and a chest x-ray and they sent me home with a blistering headache like it was nothing. My brain was basically fried and I could barely string words together. I've been eating completely healthy since the incident (lots of fish and meat) and stopped drinking caffeinated tea/coffee. I also take certain supplements here and there (Maca, Citrulline, Vitamin C/D, Magnesium Threonate/Glycinate/Taurate). The persistent symptoms I have are anhedonia, DP/DR, heightened senses, anxiety, vivid dreams (that are seemingly mocking me), and sexual dysfunction (ED, PE, etc). The timeline so far is very odd because a lot of the really bad stuff didn't hit me until a month afterwards. First week: Initial withdrawal. Numbness, GI issues (subsided), feelings of hopelessness/doom, and suicidal thoughts. I had to sleep in my mother's room one night to prevent myself going mad. 1-2 weeks: Still numb. Genitals extremely sore and I had a lot of trouble urinating (bladder control). 2-3 weeks: Constant mild head zaps/pressures/aches, otherwise no changes. 4 weeks: Genital soreness/numbness mostly gone, but things still dysfunctional. Woke up with full-blown DP/DR exactly on day 29. Intense headaches, tons of anxiety, muscle twitching. 5 weeks: Same as week before, though less pronounced. 6 weeks: Volatile mood shifts, crying, poor blood flow all over, constant muscle aches/weakness, still some twitching, dry mouth, inconsistent thirst signals, less/no hunger signals. I'm now just over 6 weeks (46 days) and I'm feeling very discouraged. My libido is still nonexistent, my brain is a mess (I can't enjoy my primary hobby anymore: software development), I'm struggling to find any meaning to life, and I have nobody to talk to that actually understands what I'm going through (I was okay with being a loner before all this, but now it's somewhat upsetting). My sister was the one who encouraged me to try this SSRI (she's also on it) and I haven't really felt like talking to her since a month ago due to what happened. My mother and my cat are currently the only support I have so far, aside from one random guy on Reddit (the PSSD sub is generally too depressing to read and every other is full of pharma shills). I'd be grateful if anyone can help me make sense of my situation. I'm honestly surprised that I haven't completely lost my s*** yet.

Hey guys, I've been on Escilatopram/ Lexapro for 17 years and I went from 20mg to 15mg with not much fuss. I stayed there for around 8 months coz I kept missing appointments with my psychiatrist. In those months, I started taking Omega 3, Lion's Mane and I'm on Probiotics and Magnesium anyway. I also started going to the gym 3 times a week. If making exercise a habit is a mystery to you, read this amazing book https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits. It might be important to note that I've been on an intense healing journey for 4 years. I've done lots of talk therapy(covered), breathwork(not covered), subconscious therapy(not covered), somatic massage(not covered), and done lots of reading on the nervous system, anger, etc. All of this built my self-awareness, so I know my limits a bit better. Then I went down to 10mg with liquid Escilatopram and had a rough week. I was very angry, and lots of thoughts/ feelings came up. I'm guessing this was all suppressed by the medicine. So I started looking for urgent therapy. In Germany, you need a consultation appointment to verify that you need therapy before you actually get therapy. In Berlin, you go through KV Berlin (association of Doctors); you can even make an appointment online now: https://www.116117.de/de/index.php. Click on the time to book the appointment. But you need to go back to KV database of doctors to figure out what languages these available doctors speak. Make sure your browser is not automatically translating; it messes up the search. So, after the first rough week of withdrawal, I've had a week of feeling ok with bouts of irrational anger, which was under control. Also, I didn't push myself and took naps when overwhelmed, normally 2 hours each. I also took pharmacy-grade Ketamine to cope with the really rough moments and took 1.2gm of magic mushrooms once in that 2 week period. I only went to the gym twice this week and did a big bike ride and forest walk. I also added B-complex to my supplements. So I did the consultation appointment, and she told me to go to a day clinic within a hospital where they would also deal with my chronic pain and give me daily therapy (covered). Apparently, that clinic will get me on to weekly therapy sessions once I'm ready for that. I will do that after Easter weekend and continue tapering. There's also an option to stay at a rehabilitation clinic (covered) which has a daily schedule of therapy and exercise. So the journey continues. I've tried to get off these meds before, and I feel a lot more stable and in control. I do believe the supplements and exercise help. My husband is also being super supportive. I see my psychiatrist soon and will taper down to maybe 7mg or 5mg. I'm not the most patient person, I want to be able to go back to work quickly without biting anyone's head off. Has anyone tried vagus nerve exercises to calm the nervous system in these bad moments?

I took Lexapro 20 mg last year for the first time ever for situational depression and it helped. But in June 2023 I missed 3+ doses and immediately withdrawal set in. As I wanted to just get off this, at the recommendation of my psychiatrist I jumped down to 10 mg to start the taper. Terrible OCD thoughts set in and in desperation I jumped to 20, then stupidly 30, but things just got worse. I have finally landed at 10 mg and have been holding until I stabilize, 10 weeks now, as my central nervous system was very much destabilized by all of this switching doses rapidly. I had akathisia, serotonin overload, jerking of my arms and legs, hypersensitive hearing and blurry vision for about 2 weeks each. At this dose over the last 10 weeks, though, all of that has improved and stopped, which leads me to believe that I am doing the right thing by just trying to stabilize. The intrusive thoughts have been the worst part that just won't quit, and the constant shameful thoughts, me wondering "What have I done wrong, will this ever get better, will I ever be myself again?" are constant. I look for counsel from other members here who have gone through a similar thing and asking for affirmation that I am doing the right thing by holding. Tapering off is my absolute goal, but I have read enough here that I understand I need to not even begin to think about that until I have been stabilized for a good while. Thankfully, I have a very supportive family in all of this. Any comments and advice are appreciated.

Good Afternoon, I am currently three weeks off Lexapro today and feeling pretty rough. Looking for some positive words of encouragement and help. I got sick early August, which spun me into a month and half or so of Health Anxiety, mind you this caused me to loss my appetite, used to sleep good and now its terrible, etc. My sleep is still bad, appetite has been back. CT scans, blood work, urologist, cardioligist, emergency room, etc. All came back clean. ER doc told me to try Lexapro, 5 Mg, so I did the research and gave it a shot. I have never been depressed and my anxiety has been hit or miss, situationally(big meeting, flying, etc). I went on to take 4 doses between Sept 7th-10th. Hated the way it made me feel. Numb, emotionless, spacy, intrusive thoughts (which I have never had), wake up sweaty and crazy anxiety. Everything I read said it would get worse before better but I could not take it and stopped CT. Didn't think about withdraws, but for the next two weeks had on and off intrusive thoughts, still terrible sleep, etc. After another night of 2 hours of sleep, I said screw it, im going to try it again. This time I took it for 9 days, and 2.5MG on the 10th day and said Im done, something isnt right and its making me feel 1000% worse. Since then 10/11 was my last dose. i felt fine right after, slept for 7 hours(broken sleep though) the two nights after and felt good the follwoing two days. Then things have slowly crept in. Insomnia, appetite is fine, intrusive thoughts we bad for about 14 days but have subsided, now Im feeling dizzy almost, kind of car sick feeling, off balnace brain fog, DR/DP- but feels like its lifting. two nights ago slept from 9:30 to 2:40, woke up to pee then back aleep until 5:15. Was stoked. woke up feeling pretty good, then just slowly as the day went felt off blance and car sick feeling and would go in and out of that. Then, right before bed, I was scrolling the web looking up symptoms, etc and came across some stuff that scared me and sent me from feeling calm, 60 resting heart rate to fight or flight engage and only slept for an hour or so last night! I am also waking up middle of the night with heart racing as well, dreaming alot when I do sleep, very clear dreams. Is this normal? I have NEVER taken medication until now. Just need some words of encouragement. Im young, 36, was very active, but feel blah now and tired, but cant sleep. How long does this last, any words of advice?

Hello everyone, I really should be thrilled since I'm close to the finish line. However, my withdrawal symptoms are a pain today. I have been wrenching this whole time on 2.5 mg and eventually I vomited today. Usually, wreching happens in the mornings and then it subsides but today it has been rough. I'm curious as to know if any of you went through the same thing? I can't seem to get my stomach to not be upset with me and I'm just miserable right now. Any suggestions on how to stop or lessen the nausea and vomiting ? I've taken Ginger Chews and Ondansetron (it lasts for several hours), but if there is something else let me know how you decompress from this mimic gastroenteritis. or maybe I should go back to 5 mg/2.5. I think after I wrote down my history I get why I'm vomiting. Perhaps, I tapered off too soon from my 5 & 2.5 mg. If symptoms still occur, especially the vomiting then I will go back. (Nice to know I'm the dumb ass here that tapered too soon from the dosage lol) Also, another thing: I know that aches and pain can be one of the withdrawal symptoms, but have any of you survivors gone through lower/upper body back pain through this??? I thought it was just me getting old, but apparently my spine is good. Got an X-Ray/MRI done and the space between them has nothing grinding against the other (thankful for that) and none of the nerves are, either. So no surgery or anything. I'm going through rehabilitation, which seems to lessen the pain and I use a heating pad and take Epsom salt baths but the pain still persists. It's pretty weird. I was active in Pilates Fusion routines and ran (I stopped running about two years ago.), but now I changed to Yoga (not advanced Yoga. Just beginner's) and use a Elliptical. Anyways, just want to know if any of you have/are suffering from back pain from your withdrawal symptoms. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ My history with Escitalopram 10 mg : First time: Went cold turkey. I was naive and just went into it. Not recommended. Started September 2022-October 2022. Found this sight and started to taper off Escitalopram. October 2022-January 23, 2022: 10 mg every day January 24 2023-April 10, 2023: 10 mg & 5 mg every other day April 11, 2023- July 1, 2023 : 5 mg everyday July 2, 2023- August 4, 2023: 5 & 2.5 mg every other day August 5, 2023- present: 2.5 mg everyday

I took Lexapro on December 27 and about a hour of taking it I started getting a burning sensation that lasted for two weeks and my emotions were completely numb I felt my heart beating so fast but didn’t feel scared or nervous. I stopped the medicine the next day I didn’t took it , I felt like I was going crazy I couldn’t sleep till this day i only get 2-3 hours of sleep , I have sensory issue (body temperature, pain is not fully there, gential numbness, no sweating , emotional bluntness, I can’t tell when I’m hungry, tired, or cold and hot) I did loose my taste for like 2 weeks but then it came back , and with the whole pain nerve not working I haven’t gotten any type of headache or sick or anything is like pain signal not working ).im so frustrated it’s like some days are good others are back to the same place 😔

Hi everyone. I created an account specifically to say what has helped me throughout this journey of recovery. I have no idea if I’m currently in a window (likely) or actually healed. I’ve had a terrible, hellish withdrawal of Trintellix, since December 20th I’ve had extreme panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, insomnia, extreme agitation etc. And then, I’ve found a few things that helped me. What was really the most helpful thing was hypnotherapy. The first session didn’t help much as it was just an introduction to it, but the second session transformed me. It put me in a state of deep relaxation, and helped me sleep again. I would advice everyone to try it, despite the cost. The other thing that helped me tremendously was this medicine called Euphytose in France, it’s a mix of Passiflora, Valerian root, hawthorn, and ballotte (translation?). It had the same effects than benzos without the obvious terrifying risks of these. Again I’m not sure I’m completely healed or in a long window, but I these things truly helped, I believe. I’ve read this forum a lot and wanted to help the folks on here, in any way that I could, even if what I’m saying is maybe nothing new for some people. Bless you all, and hang in there, healing is coming.

First, I had bad anxiety in my early twenties. Started Effexor, took it for about a year then tried stopping with a fast taper. I got fired from work 4 ou 5 months later and my anxiety went up big time. Started Effexor again. Went up to 110mg, but I was having many side effects so after talking to my doctor, I decided to stop. I reduced the dosage over 2 months then stop. Went throught withdrawal for a few weeks and then things got quiet for a few months. I started getting hit by some fairly heavy anxiety and panic attacks without stress to trigger it. I went back to effexor for a few months and then I switched to escitalopram 10mg to try and see if I would have less side effects. I stayed on escitalopram 10mg for at least 6 years. Now, at the start of January 2024, I run out of escitalopram for a few days. That's when I decided to try and quit. Just like that. The withdrawal was hell. A lot of brain zap, anger that I could not contain at all, brain fog, insomnia, etc. After 6 weeks, most of the symptoms were gone or wayyyy more manageable. 1 week before the 4 months mark, I started getting vertigo and feeling dizzy. I had no idea what was going on. My anxiety started acting up again and I took an appointment with my doctor. He's starting me on 5mg escitalopram again. I took my first half pill 8 hours ago and I feel absolutely awful: It's impossible to sleep, I had 2 panic attacks, I feel like I need to walk all the time and my hands are shaking. And now i'm scared to death, does it mean that I have kindled? Should I keep taking 5mg and see if it stabilize? Should I lower to 2.5? Should I stop?!

Hello everyone, I was on and off different medications, including multiple SSRIs, from adolesence into my late 20s, which ended with a very bad clonazepam withdrawal. The following decade had its challenges of different PAWS symptoms, including some bad waves, but for the most part, I lived a fairly rich and functional life. My withdrawal from Lexapro in 2007 was also extremely quick and took many years of tinkering with supplements, exercise, and other methods to deal with, but over time it was fairly manageable. Over the past year, as personal issues mounted one after the other, I found myself in a state of genuine psychiatric crisis. The benzo PAWS precipitated a two week period of extreme dysautonomia and insomnia which was helped with Trazodone, and I was back to being chemically stable for the next month or so. However, the psychological issues that existed independently of any of these chemical questions were not adequately addressed, and after a period of extreme spiraling, I attempted to reinstate Lexapro at 5mg, which I took for one day. Within a few hours, I found that pretty much all my lingering SSRI PAWS symptoms were gone, I was thinking extra clearly, and was feeling quite optimistic. The next day, however, I found myself experiencing intense anhedonia, brain fog, and anxiety, along with other symptoms that I attempted to ameliorate with some supplements that had previosly helped but ended up just inflaming everything. Over the next couple days I experienced unprecedented DP/DR, inability to feel emotions, and a bizarre difficulty crying. At the end of the week, I took a dose of about .1mg which that night again ameliorated most of the symptoms, only to have them return over the next day or two. In the past few weeks, I've instituted a true microdose of around 0.01-0.02mg, which has seemed to attenuate some of the DP/DR, but the the emotionlessness has remained. I also implemented low dose lamictal, and I can't tell if it's helping or revving up my system even more in the long run. I've found, oddly, that when I don't take the Lexapro microdose for a day, the dyspnea/emotional blunting actually goes away, so I don't know what is caused by the SSRI, what's caued by withdrawal, or what is psychological. Even after bringing the microdose back after one day off, within seven hours after taking it, I actually feel my mood lift, followed by all the other symptoms mentioned. Right now, I'm having immense trouble thinking clearly, much more brain fog, headache, emotional flatness, and more tingling in my feet along with dysautonomia than usual. I don't know if I should attempt to switch to Prozac or sertraline, increase the Lexapro, dose it multiple times a day, get off entirely, add more lamictal, remove the lamictal, or what. Like many others on this forum, every option feels like a bad one with hidden risks, and I have to remind myself to not feel personal guilt over this situation. Thanks very much for any help.

Hello all, I started Lexapro in November, 2012 after a 2 month sleep crisis and, as a result, long anxiety attacks for many day (no drugs or psych illness history prior to that). Have been taking 10 mg, and had no side effects, felt rather well. I decided to stop the pills this June (my NP said I could stop any time I wanted; of course, I did not find this site prior to doing so). I took 5 mg for probably 15 days, felt no difference at all, and stopped all together around June 20th. Was feeling okay up until August 20th when I stopped sleeping all together, and in 3 days started having severe suicidal thoughts. I was able to see a psychiatrist on campus (I do not have a GP as I am a foreign student) on August 25th, and she put me back on 10 mg Lexapro and 0.5-1 mg Klonopin. Well, when I took the pills at those doses my anxiety got even worse (I could not imagine it was possible). But then I did not know that I should have started reinstating with 1 mg (read it on SA later). Of course, I did not sleep. I felt crazy and panicky, had non-stop anxiety attacks, did some completely irrational things. On August 30th, I went back on campus to see another psychiatrist. This one seemed to be much more pleasant, less judgmental, understanding and open to what I had to say. Well, he said to decrease Lexapro to 5 mg (just for 2 weeks to decrease the side effects), and gave me Trazodone (50 mg calling it a baby dose). I didn't read on it back then (my doctor said it was non-habit forming and it was enough for me to relax and not do my research), and it seemed to help somewhat at first. I still would get very broken sleep (10/10:30 pm - 3:30 am, then up every 20/40 mins, listen to a meditation YouTube video, then dose off for 30 mins, and that would happen until around 5/6 am). However, I felt slightly better, especially compared to the peak of the crisis on August 20-30, so I figured I was healing. Little did I know. My sleep kept being very broken on Trazodone. About 2 weeks ago I started looking it up, saw all the disastrous info on it on SA (I know how much Alto despises it) and other websites and completely freaked out. It might somehow contributed to the drug's having stopped working as a sleeping aid all together. Now its 10/2/2016, I have barely slept since 8/20/2016, I'm on 5 mg of Lexapro and 25 mg of Trazodone (went down from 50 mg on 9/25/16 - did not notice any difference), and I am nowhere close to stabilizing. The symptoms I have are terrible insomnia, severe anxiety, fatigue, desperation, and terrible dark thoughts.I do not think I can take it any longer. I really want to get off Trazodone (I know you saying 10% off every 2-3 months, but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to pull it off). I am absolutely alone in country (I don't have family, have some friends but no one even remotely close to talk about AD's withdrawal, reinstating, stabilizing and all that). Should I keep 5 mg Lex in hope to stabilize? Again, one of the reasons I do not want to increase it as it'll be easier to taper from 5mg. Can I rely on it for sleep when it finally starts working? Can I quit Trazodone? [Also, from Traz I have really nasty palm sweats.. Anything I touch with my hands gets soaking wet instantly.. ] I hate the idea of any psych drugs, but Trazodone appears to be my worst enemy as it's been added so recently, so harmful and does not help. I've been on it for only 30 days now, I still barely sleep and am terrified and desperate. I wanted to switch Traz to Remeron (7.5 mg) 2 weeks ago but freaked out (due to the other people's reviews on how it affects appetite, hormones, weight gain, etc.). Can I do it now? I know that keeping switching pills is the worst one can do but since 50 mg of Traz did not help anyway.. And if I stabilize on Remeron, it'd much easier to taper from 7.5 mg vs. 25 mg of Traz. You all talk a lot about meditation, mindfulness, yoga, healthy eating. I was doing most of it while being on Lex and feeling well, but now I just can't anymore. I need to feel better to get back to any of those tools. I am an absolute mess right now. Please, advise. I really don't have anyone else to turn to.

I found the following information interesting. It was written by an ex physician from ICU called Tony Jay, in response to the question: 'Do serotonin receptors regenerate?' All receptors are produced by the cell that expresses them and all these receptors are continually produced. I am not exactly certain what you mean by the word “regenerate”, however the binding of nearly all (but not all) drugs, hormones, and neurotransmitters to receptors is temporary and occurs without directly damaging the receptor in any way. Whether a receptor is bound by a ligand really is dependent on the local concentration of the ligand. If a ligand does bind to a receptor in a permanent fashion then that receptor will not continue to function and the cell will internalize that receptor and destroy it and externalize new receptor proteins. Over time all receptors degrade and become non-functional. This is not a problem since the cell is continually producing new receptors to replace old ones. These principles apply to serotonin receptors too…. Here's the source: https://www.quora.com/Do-serotonin-receptors-regenerate